Retirement
by Circe-Asteria
Summary: James Norrington has retired from the Navy. Jack Sparrow has found himself an island. What started in a cave comes to an end on that island. Repost. Ignores Deat Mans Chest and Worlds End. Sparrington. One Shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. It belongs to Disney and other affiliates. I just like to trot the characters out and make them dance like puppets

Please note that this is a repost of the original Retirement by me.

James Norrington's retirement ceremony went off without a hitch. Now all the ladies of Port Royal were plotting to get him hitched. They just didn't understand which such a noble, honorable, upstanding man was still unwed. The day after the ceremony, the young ladies primped, preened, powdered and polished before setting off for the tidy house owned by James Norrington. They flattered each other on the walk up, each the best friend of the other. Behind them trooped their mothers, each figuring the best way to defame the other girls while her own daughter snagged the honorable Norrington.

When they reached the tidy house, filed through the gate and knocked on the door, they were greeted with an unwelcome surprise. No one was home. They stood in the gardens and peered in through the window. Though all of the furnishings were still there, no servants bustled through the house. And there was no sign on Norrington. The daughters sighed while the mothers clucked like angry hens. Where had that man gone?

After ensuring that their chicks were safely tucked into home, the mothers headed down to the fort. Perhaps Norrington was visiting with some of his old cronies? Well, they'd have to break him of that habit. When Norrington wasn't to be found in the halls of the fort, the alarm was raised. Had Norrington been taken? Did he just up and leave? Vanish?

The new commander of the fort, a small, nervous man sent straight down from England, questioned the Turners. "Do you have any inkling of where he could have gone? What about his enemies? Did he say anything to you?"

Elizabeth, being the more tactful of the two, shook her head. "No, no we don't know where Mr. Norrington is. Has the house been checked?"

The commander fiddled with his hat. "No one is there, Mistress Turner. The house is all locked up and the servants were given their final pay last night. They said that Mr. Norrington said he'd take care of everything. Are you sure that he didn't say anything to you?"

She shook her head. "No, he's hasn't been to see us recently, nor we him. We just assumed that he's been busy tying up loose ends before handing over the reins to the fort."

The new commander sighed and stood. He thanked the Turners for their time and asked that they let him know if they heard from Mr. Norrington before leaving the house. Once the island was search, a project that lasted for several days, and no sign of Norrington was found, the commander turned to the sea. He sent out his fast boats to search and yet he found nothing.

Of course, the new commander didn't think to look in the unobvious places. Like a pirate ship with black sails. The Black Pearl, under full sail, had long ago left the safe waters of Port Royal and now she was anchored in the enclosed harbor of an uncharted island. Her captain, a man with tangled black hair and a sense of rational insanity was sprawled on the sand, soaking up the strong Caribbean sun. Next to him was another man soaking up the same rays. "Now, James, this must be infinitely preferable then being chased by a hoard of young misses?"

James Norrington raised an eyebrow. "Jack, you chased me all around that forsaken boat of yours on the way here but yes, this is better then being hunted by a crowd of young women."

Jack Sparrow grinned. "Least I made it plainly obvious what I wanted."

"Yes, to shag me from morning to evening and from evening to dawn. And, unbelievably, you got what you wanted."

"Captain Jack Sparrow always gets what he wants, Luv. You should know this."

"Captain Jack Sparrow belongs in Bethlem Hospital."

"That's not nice."

"You sailed through a hurricane."

Jack snorted. "If anything, Commodore Norrington belongs in Bethlem. He followed me."

James grinned. "Commodore Norrington is retired and still following you."

"Yes, yes he is," Jack rolled, sliding half his body over James'. He slid work roughened hands up the length of the man's bare arms to pin the hands over his head. "You've finally captured me, Norrington. All you had to do was follow your heart. Not to mention you've always had an unhealthy obsession with me."

James wiggled his hands free and fisted them in tangle of black hair that Jack sported. He yanked the tanned pirate down and kissed him. "Following my heart meant tossing all I'd worked for to the wind," he said after drawing away.

"And now? What does your heart saw now?"

"I've retired from the Navy. My heart is now free to do what it wants and it wants you. Always has. Always will. If that means being a pirate along side you, so be it."

"Pirates. Not so much anymore. We're old and there are a younger breed making their way up the mast. Oh, we'll still take the water. The sea is in our blood." Both men twisted to look out at the sea and then craned their heads around to look at the island. It wasn't large but it had a steady supply of game and a fresh water spring. It was an idyllic place for retirement. "Maybe we should put some of your skills to use and explore."

Jack stood, pulling James with him. They stood breast to breast and grinning like idiots for a moment before running for the hut Jack had claimed as his. The crew, working to clear underbrush and build their own huts, shook their heads. When they'd stopped off at Port Royal to pick up some precious cargo, they hadn't expected the former Commodore to be invited on board and they certainly hadn't expected their captain to just him from stern to bow on their way to the island. But they had expected that the two would tumble into bed together.

In the hut, sprawled on the bedding of reeds covered with a soft blanket, James moaned as Jack systematically stripped him. He'd never expected his life to turn out like this. Only a short year before, he'd been considering marriage when Jack Sparrow had popped up again. He'd chased the man to a small island. From that beach, he'd cornered him in a small cave. He'd had the pirate in irons when a tropical storm blew over the island and forced them to remain in the cave.

Caves, James thought, were dangerous. The first hours were spent in silence, then arguing, then fighting. Somehow, fighting on the hard, dirty, stone floor of that cave had turned into lovemaking. They'd spent a handful of days in that cave, waiting for the storm to subside and, when it was over, Jack had asked him to come with him. He couldn't have, not at the time.

Though he desperately craved the touch and feel of Jack's body, James had returned to his post in the Navy. He'd written his report so that Jack had escaped during the storm and, during the next 360 days, met up with the pirate whenever he could. Each time they'd met, on some lonely strand of beach, they'd cling to each other, renewing the bonds that had always driven then together.

Jack, as he worshipped the smooth planes of James' toned body, wondered how he'd actually managed to snag the Great Commodore Norrington. One minute they'd been fighting in that cave and the next he'd been desperate to learn how James Norrington tasted. Over the next year, whenever they'd managed to meet, he'd asked the man to come along. Only months ago, James had agreed. They'd carefully planned it. After his retirement party, James would slip away and meet Jack on the western bit of beach they favored. Jack had rowed him and his few bags of precious belongings out to the Pearl and from there they'd sailed away. He hadn't told a soul about his plans.

That night, after safely reaching the Pearl, he'd been announced as the newest member of the crew. Of course, Jack had then pursued the man all around his ship. James had some funny ideas about keeping their relationship quiet. One just couldn't do that on a ship the size of the Pearl. The crew had just shrugged their shoulders and went about their work.

Here, on the little island they'd claimed, Jack and his crew could live out their days feeling like kings. Even pirates had to retire from the game. He'd still take to the sea because that expanse of water dominated his life but maybe they'd be less pirating.

Jack curled around James' body, all but purring when the man snuggled close to him. He felt like a king. He didn't need to be a pirate anymore; he had the greatest treasure a man could own. He had the heart of James Norrington. A man would go to impossible lengths, even tip over the ends of the world, in order to have the one he loved.

As for that poor new commander of the Port Royal Fort, the disappearance of Retired Commodore Norrington would forever haunt him. Rumors would crop up of a sighting at times and he'd go haring after them. He completely discarded the ones about Norrington taking up with pirates. What sort of honest, respectable man took up with pirates?

Elizabeth and William Turner believed those rumors about James with pirates and would smile every time they heard a story about a ship with black sails, a captain just this side of insane and a man with James' eyes and easy smile handling the charts. Jack Sparrow would only trust someone very special with things such as bearings and charts.

It seemed that retirement would suit James Norrington and Jack Sparrow very well.


End file.
